Second Amendment Newsletter. Oct. 15, 2003

About once a month, Dave
Kopel produces a free e-mail Newsletter containing short
summaries and links to important new research and writing
involving the Second Amendment and firearms policy. The
newsletter also reports on Kopel's latest writing.

The content of this newsletter is produced by the Second
Amendment Project at the Independence Institute, a think
tank in Golden, Colorado. The newsletter is electronically
distributed by the
Second Amendment Foundation in Bellevue, Washington. Thus,
the Second Amendment Foundation will be given your e-mail
address.

Dave Kopel's Second Amendment Project is based at the
Independence Institute, a free-market think tank in
Golden, Colorado.
http://www.independenceinstitute.org
======================
Delivery of this newsletter comes courtesy of the
Second Amendment Foundation, in Bellevue, Washingtonhttp://www.saf.org
=======================

Please visit Dave Kopel's website, containing articles on
the Second Amendment and other freedom topics.http://www.davekopel.org
=======================

Table of Contents for this issue

1. New Book by Kopel: Supreme Court Gun Cases.

2. New Articles by Kopel: Schwarznegger. Gun confiscation in
Australia.

Coming out in September 2003, "Supreme Court Gun Cases" dispels
the
myth that the High Court has been quiet on the subject of guns.
The
book runs 672 pages, covers 92 gun-related cases, and this is the
bottom line: the Supreme Court has upheld the legal tradition and
historical record of private gun ownership, self defense, and
armed
self defense, since the country began. The days of saying
Americans
have no individual gun rights are now over.

Time and time again, the Court recognizes the individual right to
keep
and bear arms that we observe in every facet of American life, in
this
scrupulously researched text. The anti-rights argument collapses
under
the weight of the evidence. Gun banners will be forced to find
something new to say. Americans have a constitutionally protected
right
to keep arms and right to bear arms.

"...a political earthquake... an exceptional piece of research...
the
anti-freedom
crowd is not going to like 'Supreme Court Gun Cases'."
Larry Pratt, Executive Director, Gun Owners of America

"...wonderful... groundbreaking... belongs on the bookshelf of
every
practitioner of constitutional law...Gun rights are an integral part of each American's fundamental
constitutional liberties."
Thomas C. Patterson, M.D., Chairman, Goldwater Institute

"Right in the face of unrelenting media distortion and anti-gun
propaganda, 'Supreme Court Gun Cases' proves beyond any doubt that
the
Court has explicitly upheld the legal and historical record of
private
firearms ownership and armed self-defense. This book proves what
NRA
has been saying all along -- the Second Amendment protects an
individual's right to keep and bear arms -- a freedom existing
before
America's founding and enshrined in our Bill of Rights."
Wayne R. LaPierre, Executive Vice President, National Rifle
Association

"The dream team of American gun-law experts has driven a stake
through
the heart of the anti-rights gun-ban lobby... The individual right
to
keep and bear arms is an American tradition with roots as deep as
the
nation itself."
Alan Gottlieb, Chairman, Second Amendment Foundation

Secret Weapon. Some 2nd Amendment Lawyers Help The Gun-Ban Side.
National Review Online
Sept. 22, 2003.
Part 1 of a 2-part series on harmful gun rights lawsuits.
The History Of The Morton Grove Cases, And Of The NAACP's
Successful Litigation Strategy.
http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel200309221255.asp

Getting the Tea Ready? The D.C. backlash.
With Paul Blackman
National Review Online
July 29, 2003
"Taxation without representation" and D.C.'s attempt to impose a
commuter tax on residents of Maryland and Virginia. Includes a
look at
D.C.'s junk lawsuit against the Second Amendment.
http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel072903.asp

The Bush administration is undermining the armed pilots program.
9/11 Anniversary Commentary
KGNU-Boulder Radio Broadcast.
September 11, 2003
This broadcast is available in MP3; the Kopel commentary begins at
9:15
into the program.
http://kgnu.net/audio/morn_mag/

Armed America: Firearms Ownership, Hunting, and Gun Culture in
the
Early United States.
Clayton E. Cramer
ClaytonCramer.Com
Mr. Cramer has put the first two chapters of his next book up on
his
web site. Chapter 2 is a detailed
examination of colonial militia laws and arms ownership.
http://www.claytoncramer.com/ArmedAmericaTeaser.pdf

Guns, Drugs and Juvenile Crime: Evidence from a Panel of Siblings
and Twins
H. Naci Mocan, Erdal Tekin
National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. w9824
July 2003
These two authors conclude from statistical evidence that the
presence
of firearms in the home increases the propensity to committing
robbery,
burglary and theft by about two percentage points for juveniles.
The
entire paper may be purchased online.
http://www.nber.org/papers/w9824

Is There A Right To Own A Gun?
Michael Huemer
Social Theory and Practice, Vol. 29, No. 2, pp. 297-324
April 2003
Huemer concludes that citizen of the U.S. do have a constitutional
right to firearms ownership.
http://home.sprynet.com/~owl1/guncontrol.htm

The Fire Last Time: Wesley Clark and Waco
Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair
Counterpunch.com
Originally Published June 1999
General Clark, in his role as commander at Ft. Hood, Texas,
released
armored vehicles to then-Attorney General Janet Reno for the final
assault of the Branch Dravidian compound at Waco.
http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn09182003.html

"And Now a Chance to Bid Farewell to Mr. Bush"
Michael Moore
"Michael's Message," MichaelMoore.com
September 23, 2003
Film Maker and Anti-2nd Amendment Activist Michael Moore has words
of
praise and exhortation for Wesley Clark.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php

5. International

Australia

Now Australians Have A Sword Ban
News.com.au
September 20, 2003
New controls on sword ownership in Victoria would adversely affect
highland dancers, the state National Party said today.
Traditional
Scottish dances around swords on the ground will now require a
permit
and the payment of a licensing fee.
http://news.com.au/common/

An Afternoon with Tony Martin
Commentary by Sean Gabb
Free Life Issue Number 112
19 September 2003
A visit with the English farmer arrested and imprisoned for
shooting
two thieves, one fatally, while they were plundering his barn.
http://www.seangabb.co.uk/flcomm/flc112.htm

Playing with guns is 'good for boys'
NEWS.scotsman.com
Murdo Macleod And Scott McCulloch
July 13, 2003
Banning boys from playing with toy guns is futile and may even
damage
their development, a leading child psychologist has warned.
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=763492003

How To Kill A Burglar
Aidan Hartley
The Spectator
9 August 2003
Aidan Hartley on how a friend of his shot dead a robber and
wounded
another in Kenya last year, without having to go through Tony
Martin's
agony.
http://www.spectator.co.uk/article.php3?

7. Articles concerning the United Nations Biennial Meeting on
Small
Arms, July 2003

Small firearms claim 60 lives every hour: Annan
War Wire
Spacewar.com
July 7, 2003
The article quotes UN Secretary General Kofi Annan who calls
small-calibre firearms a "scourge." It explains that the
International
Action Network on Small Arms now comprises 500 non-government
organizations in over 100 countries.
http://www.spacewar.com/2003/030707192827.lxmb1lk3.html

Canada Leads Charge For Small-Arms Control Program:
Gun Control Critic Points To National Registry's Problems
Steven Edwards
Edmonton Journal
July 8, 2003
The Canadian delegation to the UN has called for greater
international
restriction on small arms despite ongoing problems with Canada's
own
gun registry.
http://www.iansa.org/news/2003/un/canada_leads.htm

"Calls Heard for More Vigorous International Action Against
Illicit
Arms Trade, as First-Ever Biennial Meeting on Small Arms Follow-Up
Continues"
The United Nations
July 8, 2003
UN press release listing the many nations that spoke at the day's
conference advocating further firearm restrictions at both global
and
national levels.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003/dc2874.doc.htm

Biennial Meeting of States Concludes Consideration of National
Plans To Curb
Illicit Small Arms Trade, Hears Proposals from Civil Society
UN Press Release
July 9, 2003
United Nations press release with a summary of what was said by
different nations during the conference. Gun registration is
believed
to be some kind of solution, and the word 'scourge' is routinely
applied to firearms.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003/dc2875.doc.htm

Don't wait for government protection
Mark Steyn
Chicago Sun-Times Online Edition
September 14, 2003
Opinion column treating the recent stabbing of a Swedish cabinet
member
and the failures of governments to protect citizens.
Quotes Kopel on the "culture of passivity."
http://www.suntimes.com/output/steyn/cst-edt-steyn14.html

Pilots To Feds: Arm Us Faster! Aviators Plan To Demonstrate At
Airports
Across America
Jon Dougherty
WorldNetDaily
August 24, 2003
Several pilot groups are planning demonstrations at airports
around the
nation to protest the TSA's tardiness in allowing qualified armed
pilots.
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=34250

And...
Congratulations of the Firearms Coalition of Colorado, which was
named group
of
the year by the NRA. Formed in 1989 to fight an "assault weapon"
ban
being proposed in the Colorado State legislature, the FCC has been
a
stalwart in working for constitutional rights. The FCC is
outstanding
at stopping bad legislation; virtually none of the repressive
proposals
brought forward after the Columbine murders were enacted by the
state
legislature. Before that, the FCC shut down most of Governor
Romer's
proposals in the 1993 special legislative session. The FCC has a
very
strong affirmative agenda, helped to win concealed handgun
licensing
reform, and statewide firearms preemption in the last legislature.
The
FCC is dramatic proof that a group of motivated, patient,
concerned citizens really can make a difference.
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Newsletter layout by Dr. Rob S. Rice, no relation to anyone playing
for
Oakland,
who is a historian, writer and factotum of matters electronic to
David
Kopel.

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